Saturday 17 September 2011

Have you joined the Book Swap?

The Guardian and Observer Book Swap: how to take part


From Friday 16 September, we'll be asking people all over the UK to join in the Guardian and Observer Book Swap. Here's how you can take part



1. Choose a book you'd like to swap
2. Stick the bookplate in the front of your book. The bookplates are free in the Guardian and Observer on 17 and 18 September or you candownload and print one out now
3. Write a message for the person who finds your book. Tell them why you love it
4. Leave it somewhere it can be found
5. Take a picture of your book in the place you left it, upload it to ourFlickr group and geotag it so it will be displayed on our map. You can also visit guardian.co.uk/books to leave your review of any book that you've swapped on our new books pages
Plus look out for the thousands of free books left all over the country by the Guardian and Observer. If you're on Twitter, please use the#guardianbookswap hashtag to swap news about the books you've found or left across the UK.

The rules of the book swap

1. You can leave as many books as you like, just make sure they are your own
2. Make sure your book is clean and in good condition
3. Don't leave inappropriate material where it can be found by children
4. Avoid places your book could be damaged by the weather
5. Make sure it won't be seen as a security risk
6. Don't leave it in book shops or libraries
7. Don't put yourself or the finder of the book at any risk
Read, rate and review all your favourite books atGuardian.co.uk/books
I read about this idea and had a John le Carre moment, I could see me sneaking through the streets looking for the right place to secrete a book in an all-weather plastic folder.


As many of the books I love are aimed at the YA reader, I've decided to swap YA sci-fi :


The Declaration by Gemma Mallery and Alien Invasion & Other Inconveniences by Brian Yansky


I'm a little worried about a technical melt down at the Flickr group and geotag stage but, by tomorrow, my books will be out there trying to find themselves good homes where their new reader will keep them warm and well looked after.


HAVE YOU JOINED THE GUARDIAN AND OBSERVER BOOK SWAP? DOESN'T IT SOUND LIKE FUN?


4 comments:

  1. I think this is brilliant. I wish people here would do it. Don't think it would catch on though...

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  2. WHHHHAAAATTTT? Why didn't I hear about this until today? I would have loved to take part but now I'm not at home so I have no access to my books. *sigh*

    What a great idea.

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  3. Hi Danette, Glynis and Karen
    It was a great idea. My book swap foundered on a missing Pritt (glue)stick. I bet the Swap idea would work, up to a point. I was worried about someone trashing these books - I loved them.

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